Spurs-Thunder Game 1 TV: What did we just see?

Any person watching, except the 18,581 paying customers at the AT&T Center, knew as soon as the words came out of Spurs coach Gregg Popovich’s mouth that Silver & Black fans now have something else besides “Go Spurs Go” to chant now.

The wireless microphone Popovich wore for the TNT’s “Inside Trax” moments picked up what he said to the team, down by nine points in the fourth quarter.

Here’s the full quote:

“Are we having fun yet?” Popovich said during a fourth quarter time out. “I need a little bit more (of a) dose of nasty. I’m seeing a little bit more of unconfident; a little hesitation. It’s not supposed to be easy. Every round gets tougher. Penetrate hard; good passes; shoot with confidence. I want some nasty!”

Broadcast notes
Here are a just some observations about TNT’s Game 1 broadcast:

*What reaction would Charles Barkley provoke inside the AT&T Center as game time came close? It only took six minutes into the “NBA Tip-Off” pregame show before chants of “Barkley sucks” were heard during the telecast. Ernie Johnson commented those Barkley chants were still going on during the “Inside the NBA” postgame show as well.

*Johnson also praised Barkley during the pregame for finally getting Spurs forward Kawhi Leonard’s first name correct the first time he said it. Numerous times in previous shows, Barkley kept calling him “Kwame” instead of “Kawhi.”

*Which commercials probably scared little kids watching more — the “Snow White and the Huntsman” or the “Prometheus” ads? By the way, I think the “Prometheus” ads gave away a little too much.

*”Franklin & Bash” got more love by TNT than the reboot of “Dallas” that only got one commercial late in the fourth quarter. It did have a great tagline — “Some rivalries never get old.”

Overheard“They’re in the green room getting ready for the game and there are tacos back there. So what does that tell you?
- David Sears, KSAT-TV 12 new reporter, switching back to Sports for the ABC affiliate’s Spurs playoff specials, answering Greg Simmons question about Barkley’s “fat women” comments.

“I thought maybe it was a small bird sneaking out of Harden’s beard! Look at that thing! I think there’s got to be a nest in there somewhere.”
— Steve Kerr, TNT analyst, when Oklahoma City’s James Harden and San Antonio’s Manu Ginobili got tangled up on the court late in the first period. The duo’s entanglement caused referee Joey Crawford’s whistle to fall out of his mouth.

“Come on guys; he’s (Harden) a Sun Devil, I’m a Wildcat. I gotta get on him a little bit.”
— Kerr, TNT analyst, again after Marv Albert and Reggie Miller playfully chided him about Harden’s beard comments.

“David Robinson is the only guy who loses weight when he retired.”
— Charles Barkley, TNT analyst, showing him in attendance at the AT&T Center.

“If the general doesn’t panic, the troops don’t panic.”
— Shaquille O’Neal, TNT analyst, on how the Spurs performed after Gregg Popovich’s “Nasty” comments early in the fourth quarter.